start the weekend on Friday by visiting the London Ice Sculpting Festival 2014. Watch from 12 noon ice sculptors participating in competitions and try yourself (from 4pm to 8pm) to ice sculpt by attending 20-minute masterclasses (children must be 12+ to participate). All for free! On Saturday the Festival is open between 10am and 7pm and on Sunday from 12 noon to 6pm. Time to take some amazing pictures or video with your camera and impress yourself and your friends!

PLUS the daily free, one-hour guided tours (11.30am & 2.30pm + 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays) of the National Gallery (highly recommended); on Fridays there is an extra, late, 7pm tour (the gallery closes at 9pm); a great way to spend your evening!

If you haven’t done it before register online (before 6pm on Friday – one-off procedure) at parkrun and participate on Saturday at 9am. Parkrun is a free, 5K timed runs in various (42 so far!) parks in London (Brockwell, Crystal Palace, Finsbury, Richmond etc.) & the UK. Even if you don’t register you can still take part in the parkrun though your name will not be included in the results.

Have an exciting weekend!

To get the full list of events and all their details for the weekend (Friday, 10 January 2014 – Sunday, 12 January 2014), or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Travel more for free! Public transport will be free between tonight 11.45pm (31 December 2014) and 4.30am (1 January 2015). If you fancy a little trip with a ferry there is a free one in Woolwich; try it out from Friday (2 January). And if you are over 60 you can apply for a 60+ London Oyster photocard which allows you lots of free travelling!

Watch London’s New Year’s Day Parade for free! It starts at noon (1 January) on Piccadilly and finishes at 3.30 pm in Parliament Square

Run more for free! There are now 44 different locations in London (303 locations in the UK) where volunteers accommodate parkrun, a free, 5K timed run, every Saturday morning at 9pm. In some of the locations there will be a parkrun held on the 1st of January; a great way to start your keep-fit resolutions. If Saturdays are not good for you you can try Sweatshop Running Community for some free group running (mostly on weekdays – evenings)

Dance more for free! Kick-off your resolution with some Ceilidh dance at the Southbank Centre (1 January), 2.30-5.30pm

Give more blood! A great way to help other people in need. There are sessions on Friday (2 January) and on

Draw more for free! Not only you will have the opportunity to be inspired by the paintings in the National Portrait Gallery but you will get a couple of sheets of paper, pencils and other media. There will also be an artist to lead you to an exercise. Start this Friday (2 January), 6.30-8.30pm and make it a habit! Or you can go to the nearby National Gallery; first Talk and Draw event in 2015 is on Friday (9 January), 1-2pm

Play more the ukulele for free! Join PLUC (People of Lewisham’s Ukulele Club). First meeting in 2015 is on Tuesday 6 January, (8-10pm)

Attend more guided tours for free! Most of them are on a daily basis. Try The British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Gallery. Don’t miss Leslie Primo’s entertaining guided tours to The National Gallery. His next ones are on Wednesday (7 January) at 11.30am and 2.30pm

Play more table tennis (ping pong) for free! There is a number of ping pong tables in London where you can play for free. In some cases you don’t even have to carry your own bats and balls. But just to be sure, you could have a set with you

Study more for free! You don’t have to be in London for this one (in Vision2Learn case you have to be a UK resident) and you don’t even have to get out of your flat. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) give you the opportunity to study a variety of subjects (from programming to History of Art, and from Nutrition to Music), are free and in many cases they will even provide you with an e-certificate (PDF) on successful attendance. Video lectures, quizzes, tests are ways they deliver knowledge. Try something new and see if it works for you!

Hello there! We present some free events and activities for the weekend. Most of them are daily or weekly events so if you miss them this weekend you can experience them during another weekend or even another day. Don’t miss the “Chinese Festival: Paper, Painting and Performance” held at the V&A museum though! Here are the events in more detail:

start the weekend on Friday with the daily free, one-hour guided tours (11.30am & 2.30pm + 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays) of the National Gallery (highly recommended); on Fridays there is an extra, late, 7pm tour (the gallery closes at 9pm); a great way to spend your evening! Don’t miss the ones this Saturday with Leslie Primo; his tours are humorous, informative and inspiring!

alternatively, try the guided tours at the V&A museum: they are too free, last one hour and they are very inspiring. Introductory tours at 10.30am, 12.30, 1.30 and 3.30pm daily; Theatre and Performance Galleries Tour at 2pm (check at the museum as it doesn’t take place all the weekdays; it is safe to say that it’s on during the weekends)

If you haven’t done it before register online (before 6pm on Friday – one-off procedure) at parkrun and participate on Saturday at 9am. Parkrun is a free, 5K timed runs in various (42 so far!) parks in London (Brockwell, Crystal Palace, Finsbury, Richmond etc.) & the UK. Even if you don’t register you can still take part in the parkrun though your name will not be included in the results.

For those with children aged 2-5, consider storytelling sessions with a touch of music (Sunday, 10.30am & 11.30am – The National Gallery)

Finally don’t miss the “Chinese Festival: Paper, Painting and Performance” on Sunday at the V&A (12 noon – 5pm). There will be free, drop-in and available on a first come, first served basis activities and performances related to Chinese culture. Performances and activities include calligraphy, fashion, crafts (make your own decorative paper kite, create a Chinese opera mask, paper cutting, paper folding), music and dance. Some of the events are recommended for children (ages 3+). Click here for the full schedule of activities and performances (PDF document).

Have an exciting weekend!

To get the full list of events and all their details for the weekend (Friday, 17 January 2014 – Sunday, 19 January 2014), or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Hello there! We present some free events and activities for the weekend. Most of them are daily or weekly events so if you miss them this weekend you can experience them during another weekend or even another day. Don’t miss the annual London Ice Sculpting Festival though! Here are the events in more detail:

start the weekend on Friday by visiting the London Ice Sculpting Festival 2014. Watch from 12 noon ice sculptors participating in competitions and try yourself (from 4pm to 8pm) to ice sculpt by attending 20-minute masterclasses (children must be 12+ to participate). All for free! On Saturday the Festival is open between 10am and 7pm and on Sunday from 12 noon to 6pm. Time to take some amazing pictures or video with your camera and impress yourself and your friends!

PLUS the daily free, one-hour guided tours (11.30am & 2.30pm + 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays) of the National Gallery (highly recommended); on Fridays there is an extra, late, 7pm tour (the gallery closes at 9pm); a great way to spend your evening!

If you haven’t done it before register online (before 6pm on Friday – one-off procedure) at parkrun and participate on Saturday at 9am. Parkrun is a free, 5K timed runs in various (42 so far!) parks in London (Brockwell, Crystal Palace, Finsbury, Richmond etc.) & the UK. Even if you don’t register you can still take part in the parkrun though your name will not be included in the results.

Have an exciting weekend!

To get the full list of events and all their details for the weekend (Friday, 10 January 2014 – Sunday, 12 January 2014), or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Hello there! For Saturday we have collected 18 free events taking place in and around London. Here are some ideas:

start the weekend with a free 5K parkrun at 9am taking place in various parks in London and beyond. It’s very refreshing!

for children (aged 3+) there are free ticketed (pass) interactive hands-on workshops related to the collections of the Horniman museum were you will have the opportunity to touch real museum objects. The focus of the workshops is animals (start at 11.45am & 1pm).

The London Jazz Festival is on its penultimate day (lasts until Sunday, 18 November) and there are several free events including:

free gig by drummer/composer Tommy Evans and his 13-piece orchestra, performing “The Green Seagull” a suite of music inspired by the life of his uncle, David Partridge and combining jazz, folk, Indian and classical music (Barbican, 3.30pm). Listen to Early Doors clip to get an idea of Tommy Evans’s music

not related to the London Jazz Festival there are two free gigs by Angelina & JC Grimshaw performing classic jazz, blues, eastern European folk & gipsy mandolin – classic covers as well as original songs (National Theatre 1pm & 5.45pm).

If you are more into painting try the following:

free talk on Poussin’s painting “Landscape with a Man killed by a Snake” (The National Gallery, 1pm)

if you are still there at 4pm, there is a free 10-minute talk discussing the juxtaposition of photography (“E. Horsfield, Well Street, East London, February 1987”) and art (Degas’s “After the Bath, Woman drying herself”) and how the latter inspires the former

the daily free guided tours of the Victoria and Albert Museum (highly recommended) and the National Gallery ones are a good option too. There is also a free, ticketed, guided tour exploring more about Southbank Centre’s roots, architecture and some memorable moments in its 60-year history (2.30pm).

Have a wonderful Saturday!

To get the full list of events and all their details for Saturday, 17 November 2012, or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

Hello there! For Saturday we have collected 21 free events taking place in and around London. Here are some ideas:

start the weekend with a free 5K parkrun at 9am taking place in various parks in London and beyond. It’s very refreshing!

for children (aged 3+) there are free ticketed (pass) interactive hands-on workshops related to the collections of the Horniman museum were you will have the opportunity to touch real museum objects. The focus of the workshops is puppets (start at 11.45am & 1pm)

The London Jazz Festival is on its second day (lasts until Sunday, 18 November) and there are six free events:

free gig by multi-vocal solo artist Hyperpotamus performing music using only his voice, a few microphones and a loop pedal (National Maritime Museum, 2pm). Watch his music video “De Camino“

free gig with Golden Age of Steam, ADA trio featuring Peter Brötzmann, Paal Nilssen-Love and Fred Longberg-Holm, Eve Risser, MeTal-O-PHoNe, Johannes Bauer and Per Åke Holmlander. Presented by BBC Radio 3’s Jez Nelson (Cafe OTO, 2pm). Find more about Golden Age of Steam and listen to their music here

free jazz Line-Up hosted by Kevin LeGendre with two surprise bands (Southbank Centre, 3.30pm). Later at 6pm (same place) Finnish group Oddarrang featuring drummer and composer Olavi Louhivuori) with influences from jazz, classical, world and postmodern rock music will perform. Listen to them to get an idea of how they sound like

free event where composer and pianist Alexander Hawkins and vibes player Corey Mwamba discuss and debate their own perspectives on the history of jazz, combining lively chat with excerpts from albums they’ve grown up listening to and occasional live interjections. On this first part Alexander and Corey explore the deep history of jazz from its birth in the 19th century American South, through to the classic jazz of the ’20s, the swing era of the ’30s and up to the revolutionary evolution of bebop in the ’40s (Southbank Centre, 5.30pm). Second part is on Sunday 11 November at 5.30pm.

If you are more into painting try the following:

free talk on Cione’s painting “The Coronation of the Virgin” (The National Gallery, 1pm)

if you are still there at 4pm, there is a free 10-minute talk discussing the juxtaposition of photography (“E. Horsfield, Well Street, East London, February 1987”) and art (Degas’s “After the Bath, Woman drying herself”) and how the latter inspires the former

the daily free guided tours of the Victoria and Albert Museum (highly recommended) and the National Gallery ones are a good option too. There is also a free, ticketed, guided tour exploring more about Southbank Centre’s roots, architecture and some memorable moments in its 60-year history (2.30pm).

Have a wonderful Saturday!

To get the full list of events and all their details for Saturday, 10 November 2012, or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.

for children (aged 3+) there are free ticketed (pass) interactive hands-on workshops related to the collections of the Horniman museum were you will have the opportunity to touch real museum objects. The focus of the workshops is Africa (start at 11.45am & 1pm)

celebration of the opening of the newly designed Jubilee Gardens with free urban gardening, beekeeping, Junk Orchestra and London Orchestra workshops, free music and dance (Jubilee Gardens, Southbank Centre, 1pm-7pm, also on Sunday 12 noon-6pm)

free talk on Van Huysum’s painting “Flowers in a Terracotta Vase” (The National Gallery, 1pm)

free storytelling sessions with the author and illustrator of the Katie books, James Mayhew amazing children and adults alike with his ability to tell a story whilst painting upside down. Each story session will be followed by a book signing (The National Gallery, 11.30am & 3.30pm)

if you are still there at 4pm, there is a free 10-minute talk on Caravaggio’s painting “The Supper at Emmaus”. Can you spot the seashell?

the daily free guided tours of the Victoria and Albert Museum (highly recommended) and the National Gallery ones are a good option too. There is also a free, ticketed, guided tour exploring more about Southbank Centre’s roots, architecture and some memorable moments in its 60-year history (2.30pm).

Have a wonderful Saturday!

To get the full list of events and all their details for Saturday, 27 October 2012, or to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.